Pneumatic drill column



' H. l. STAGE.

PNEUMATIC DRILL COLUMN. APPLCATION FILED JAN. 13, 1919. RENEWED APR.18.1922.

1,41 8,3136 7 Patentedl1l'ne6,1922.

Y 7 '13 I9 r 26 v I -BY W ATTORNEYS.

'rsm orrles.

PNEUMATIC DRILL ooLUMn.

Application filed January 13, 1919, Serial No; 270,877. Renewed April 18, 1922. Serial No. 555,236.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD I. STAGE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at may be mounted and thus supported in operative position. i v

The objects of the present invention are to provide a supporting column for rock drillshaving pneumatic means for holding it in place and also a resiliently mounted member forming a foot piece at one end to engagethe sides of the drift, this latter men-' tionedmember being for the purpose ofretaining the column in position should the pressure on the line drop or fail. A further object ofthe invention is to provide a pawl engaged extension member which maybe extended by the pneumatic means to engage one of the faces of the drift opposite that engaged by said foot piece and which is prevented by means of this pawl. from disengaging the drift after being placed in position. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic columnfor rock drills which may be readily set up in position in the rock being operated upon and quickly taken down and removed again; Also, to provide a column which will be simple, durable, and rigidly held in place when in use.

lVith these'and other objects in view my invention consists in the features of construction and operation set forth in the following specificationvand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which, v

Figure 1 is a view of the assembled col-.

, umn, parts being shown in section;

Figure 2, a slightly modified form of the extension member;

Figure 3, a cross sectional view of the throttle valve; j i I Figure 4, a further section through the throttle valve; and I c Figure 5, the resiliently mounted member forming a foot piece, provided with prongs for engagement with a side ofv the rock.

Briefly, the column comprises a cylindrical member or cylinder casing lof sufficient length to accommodate an extension member or piston rod 2 encased within it, a throttle valve 3 near one end of the cylindrical memher 1 mounted within a column head 13, the column being further provided with a resiliently mounted prong supporting member 6 Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 11119 6, 1922.

adapted to engageoneface of the rock in which the column is being used. The resilient mounted member 6 serves as a support for a rock engaging member or foot piece 23, preferably of double prong construction, as shown, and adapted to engage the face of the rock at a plurality of points opposite that engaged by the foot piece 11 (preferably of single prong construction as shown) provided on said extension member 2.

The assembly of the resilient supporting member 6 and prong member 23 is shown clearly in Figure 5. The inner end 24; of the resilient supporting member6 is'reduced in diameter to provide a chamber between the column head 13 and the resiliently mounted member 6in which a heavy spring equal to the total pressure exerted within the cylinder member 1 is required to .compress it to its position shown in Figure 1 At the outward end of the resiliently mounted supporting member 6 is the bolt 26 about which the prongfmember 23 is trans versely pivoted. For conveniencein holding the member 6v and bolt 26 together the bolt 26 rests in depressions 27 provided on either side of the member 6. j

The extension member 2 at its inner end is made'inthe form of a piston 4 provided with suitable piston packing 5 which is usually in the form of cup leathers, to make a tight joint between the walls of the cylinoutwardly. The outer end of the extension member 2 is provided with a pointed extremity 11 forming a pointer or rockengaging member adapted to engage into one of the surfaces of the rock and also on the end ofthis member is provided a flange or shoe 12 surrounding this prong, which may be used to engage the rock when the column is used in very soft material such as coal or clay. At the opposite end of the column the resiliently mounted member 6 is provided mounted upon the column head 13 which is attached to this cylindrical member 1. inner end of this resiliently mounted member 6 is surrounded by an extension spring tending always to force it outwardly from the column. Toprevent the resilient member. 6, however, from disengaging the column completely, a bolt 26 is provided engaging the sides of this resilient member 6 and engaging slots 14 in an. extension plate 15 provided on the column head'13 rotatably engaging the bolt 26 above'referred to and also the resilient member adapted to engage the face of the drift.

The column head 13 is preferably located in the lower portion of the cylindrical member'when the columnis used in its upright position and is provided with a throttle valve 3 as above stated, receiving from a suitable source of supply, motive fluid, which is usually in the form of compressed air. The throttle valve 8 which has the usualhandle 3 and stop pin 3 is provided with a pressure receiving recess 16 supplied withmotive fluid from a suitable source and a radial slot 17 adapted upon rotation of the throttle to intercept a passage 18 leading to the cylinder member below the piston t provided on the extension member 2. Another radial passage 19 of larger cross section than the one above described is provided leading to an outlet 20 from anotherpart of the throttle valve casing adapted to supply fluid to'a rock drill which may be mounted upon the column. A bleeder port '21 is also provided so that when the throttle is returned to neutral or closed position (180 from that shown) the pressure within the cylinder member may be exhausted through the bleeder port 21 and passages 22. The stop pin3 is located in such. a position that the throttle valve cannot be rotated backwardly far enough to permit port 17 to communicate with passage 20, and thus supply fluid pressure to the rock drill before introducing pressure into the column. In the position of throttle valve 3 shown in Figures 3 and t the port 17 is open admitting motive fluid to the cylinder 1, thus holding the column in position and the port 19 is openadmitting motive fluid to operate a drill mounted on the column. Rotation of the throttle valve in the direction shown by the arrow firstcloses outlet 20. then closes'passage 18 to fluid pressure supply, andfinaljly opens the passage 18 to the bleeder port 21 thus re leasing pressure from cylinder 1 and allow ing the column to be taken apart. Stop pin '3 pre vents further rotation of the throttle valve'in this direction. I p

Y Inoperation, the column 1 maybutflized somewhat as follows 2 The column 1 is first set up inapproximately the position desired,

1,&18,336

either vertically or horizontally, and the connection with the fluid pressure supply is made; the throttle valve 8 is then rotated to supply fluid pressure to the cylindrical member below the extension member 2, which forces the piston 4: and extension member 2 outwardly and forces theprong'll and shoe 12 against the surface of the drift opposite to that of the double prong member 23 shown at the bottom of Figure 1. The pawl member 8 engages one of the teeth 7 in the rack provided in the extension member 2, thus preventing the return of extension member 2 should the pressure'within' the cylinder fail. The pressure within the cylinder also has the effect of forcing the cylindrical member 1 against the resiliently mounted member shown at 6 at the bottom of Figure 1, this movement being suflicient" to'force' the extension member 2 outwardly one or more additional'teeth' against the pressure of the spring. With the column thus rigidly in place and with pneumatic pressure within the cylindrical member and the pawl engaging the last toothv possible, a failure of the pressure on the line 'willmerely allow the spring 25 which'has been compressed as above described to expand, forcing the resiliently mounted member 6 and double prong member 23 outwardly sufficiently to retain the column in place. For simplicity and economy of flexible piping the supply of motive fluid to the rock drill or other tool mounted upon the column is taken directly from the throttle valve and column. This arrangement has the further advantage that the drill cannot be operated until the column is set up in place and rigidly held in place.

In Figure 2 a modified form of extension member is shown in which the pointed extremity 1.1 and shoe 12 are resiliently mounted within the extension. member 28. This is conveniently accomplished by providing a spring 29 below the pointed member 11. When the column is in use the spring 29 is compressedin a manner and for a purpose similar to that described for spring 25. In this modified form of the invention spring 25 is omitted and the foot piece made without a resilient mounting. This may be easily. accomplished by pivotally mounting the double pronged member directly to the member 15. To limit the movement of the resiliently mounted member 11 within the extension member 28 slots 83 are provided through which a bolt34t is passed engaging the member llthus holding these two parts resiliently together. This form of the invention-is alsoprovided with the cup leathers inserted'in, piston 31 and held in position thereon by means of the cap screw 32. p

It is to be understood .that'the present showing and. description disclose only certain specific embodiments of the" present invention, and that other formsandmodifications are included within the spirit and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

l/Vhat I claim is: r

l. A column adapted to support a fluid actuated percussive tool in operative position comprising a transversely pivoted adjustable rock engaging foot capable of accommodating itself to inequalities of the floor, a cylinder casing non-rotatively connected to the said pivoted foot, a fluid actuated piston in the cylinder casing, a piston rod connected to said piston, said piston rod extending beyond the end of the cylinder casing, a rack and pawl engagement between said piston rod and cylinder casing, a rock engaging pointer at the end of the piston rod, and means for exerting spring pressure tending to force one of the rock engaging members outward beyond. the position assumed due to the fluid actuating pressure in said cylinder, whereby upon failure of fluid pressure the said pawl engages the rack on the piston rod and in conjunction with said spring causes the rock engaging members to continue to exert pressure against the rock.

2. A column adapted to support a fluid actuated percussive tool in operative position, comprising a lower rock engaging member, engaging the rock at a plurality of points, a cylinder casing non-rotatively connected to said lower member, a fluid actuated piston in the cylinder casing, a piston rod connected to said piston and extending beyond the end of the cylinder casing, a rack and pawl engagement between said piston rod and cylinder casing, an upper rock engaging member at the outer end of the piston rod and a spring normally compressed by the force of the fluid pressure in the cylinder and tending to separate the two rock engaging members, so that when the pressure exerted by the fluid falls below the pressure exerted by the spring, the spring maintains the upper rock engaging member in contact with the rock, and the pawl prevents the piston from retracting in the cylinder casing.

3. A column adapted to support a fluid actuated percussive tool in operative position, comprising a lower rock engaging member engaging the rock at a plurality of points, a cylinder casing connected to said lower member, a fluid actuated piston slidable in said cylinder casing a piston rod connected thereto and extending beyond the end of the cylinder casing, a rack and pawl engagement between said piston rod and cylinder casing, an upper rock engaging member at theouter end of the said piston rod, and a spring normally compressed by the force of the fluid pressure in the cylinder and thereby tendingto force the two rock engaging members apart, so that when the pressure exerted by the fluid fails or falls below the pressure exerted by the spring, the spring mamtains the upper rock engaging member in contact with the rock and the pawl prevents the piston from sliding down in the cylinder casing, the weight of the cylinder casingand a drill mounted thereon being taken at all times by the cylinder casing and lower rock engaging member or foot.

4-. A column adapted to support a fluid actuated percussive tool in operative position, comprising a lower rock engaging member, engaging the rock at a plurality of points, a cylinder casing non-rotatively connected to said lower member, a fluid actuated piston in vthe cylinder casing, a piston rod connected to said pistonand extending beyond the end of the cylinder casing, an

upper rock' engaging member at the outer end of the piston rod and a spring normally compressed by the force of the fluid pressure in the cylinder and tending to separate the two rock engaging members, so that when the pressure exerted bythe fluid falls below the pressure exerted by the spring,

the spring maintains the upper rock engag ing member in contact with the rock, and the pawl prevents the piston from retracting in the cylinder casing, a throttle valve mounted on the column for controlling the supply of motive fluid to the column and to a tool adapted to be mounted on the column,

casing, a piston rod connected to said piston and extending beyond the end of the cylinder casing, a non-return stop between the piston rod and cylinder casing, a rock engaging member at the end of the piston rod, and means for exerting spring pressure tending to force one of the rock engaging members outward beyond the position assumed due to the fluid actuating pressure in said cylinder, whereby upon failure of fluid pressure the said non-return stop prevents the return of the piston rod into the cylinder casing and in conjunction with said spring causes the rock engaging members to continue to exert pressure to maintain the column in position. I

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 

